Friday also happens to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day ― which Trump commemorated with a statement that said, “As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent. In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good.”

The juxtaposition casts light on a long history of American skepticism toward people seeking refuge in their country.

In the years leading up to World War II, many Americans were also suspicious of Jews fleeing the Nazis. In 1938, 65 percent of Americans told Gallup that the persecution of Jews in Europe was at least partially their own fault, and nearly three-quarters opposed allowing “a larger number of Jewish exiles from Germany to come to the United States to live.”

In theory, the public supports helping those in need. When asked in 2011 whether the inscription on the Statue of Liberty — “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” — should still apply to immigration policy, 62 percent of Americans said it should. In the face of a specific crisis, their views often turn less welcoming.

“Americans have a general reluctance to accept refugees into the U.S., even in response to situations that are clearly oppressive,” Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of Gallup, wrote in 2015. He noted that the firm had found majority support for allowing in refugees only once, in response to a 1999 question about bringing several hundred Albanian refugees from Kosovo.

Gallup

Polls from Gallup and other organizations taken since the 1930s show that mistrust of the people fleeing international conflicts is, by now, a well-worn part of U.S. history.

1953: Opinions Are Split On Allowing Refugees From Communist Countries

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1975: Most Fear Vietnamese Refugees Will Take Jobs

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1979: Most Don't Want To Admit 'Boat People'

Roper

1980: Most Think Taking In Cuban Refugees Made U.S. Look 'Foolish'

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1984: Most Say Fewer Refugees Should Be Admitted To U.S.

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1985: Refugees Are Seen As Taking More Than They Contribute

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1993: Most Disapprove Of Giving Haitian Refugees Asylum

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2014: Opinions Are Split On Whether Central American Children Should Be Deported

Roper Center

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